Eaves-trough-drain strainer



.June 24, 1930.

v,- RENZULLI EAVES TROUGH DRAIN STRAINER y Filed April 26, 1929 Patented `lune 24, 1930 PATENT @FFEQE VALENTINO RENZULLI, OF BRIDG-EPORT, CONNECTICUT EAVES-TROUGH-DRAIN STRAINER Application filed April 26, 1929. Serial No. 358,224.

This invention relates to articles made of wire strands suitably shaped and held together to form a cage-like structure, and in the embodiment herein shown as exemplary thereof, the invention is applied to strainers for eaves troughs.

Such devices were customarily made of a number of vertical wires of suitable shape held laterally spaced from each other by girthing Wires which were interwoven with the vertical wires, as, for instance, as shown in a patent to Drendul, No. 380,873, April 10, 1888. Or, as shown in a patent to Minnemeyer, No. 536,038, March 19, 1895, the vertical wires were held together by annular bands having laterally spaced ears struck therefrom to be bent around the wires.

Both these previous proposals have inherent disadvantages, the former being difiicult to make and requiring considerable time and labor, and the latter being liable to come apart in use, for the ears only partly encircle the vertical wires and could be easily bent out to cause the wires to be loose if not entirely free.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid these disadvantages and to provide a structure which is more durable and easily manufactured.

In carrying out this invention, there is provided a girthing band having eyes struck therefrom and laterally projecting so that the bent wires may be threaded through the eyes, after which the eyes are pressed in to cause them to partially close and irmly grip the wires.

A further object of this invention is to provide a crown for the top of a domeshaped wire structure so as to hold the wires thereof properly spaced at that point and sti'lfen the entire structure.

An important feature of the present invention is the provision of means whereby the girthing band need not have any means for holding its ends together in annular form, the band being so held by one of the vertical wires which interlocks with both ends of the band. y

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

being broken away to show the construction.I

the bowed portions 13 and straight portions r1 In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a top plan view of the strainer for eaves trough drains made in accordance with this invention, portions of the device Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. n

Fig. 3 is a view looking at the device from the bottom.

Fig. 4 is a det-ail view of one of the-wires .60 as formed previous to the assembling of the` device.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the strip from which the girthing band is made.

Fig. 6 is an edge view of the strip.

Fig. 7 shows the blank comprising the crown plate. y

The cage-like structure of the present invention, as shown in the accompanying drawings, constitutes a strainer for eaves ,7 0 trough drains and comprises an upper domeshaped portion 10 and a lower orcylindrical portion 11 adapted to it into the eaves trough drain pipe.

In common with previous devices of like4 character, the device of the present invention comprises a plurality of wires 12, the upper portion 13 of which is bowed while the lower portion 14 is straight. These wires are preliminarily given the shape in a suitable bending fixture and may also be provided initially,fas shown in Fig. 4, with a., hook at the Vterminal end 15 of the bow-shaped portion 13 to engage a wire ring 16 when the wires are assembled together. S5

According to the present invention, the

wires, inthe assembled relation shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, are held together properly spaced from each other at the junction 17 of 14 of the wire by a girthing band 18.v This band, as shown in Fig. 5, is a relatively long, flat pliant, or even flexible, strip and has equi-spaced eyes or eyelets 19 formed by making parallel slits 2O in the band and;9 pressing down the material between the slits, as shown from the side in Fig. 6'.

y In assembling the device, a band 18 ofthe proper length, depending upon the diameter of the pipe the cylindrical end 11 of the i100 Yso device is to it, is cut from the girthing band strip. The assembler then threads the straight end 111 of a wire 12 through the next to the last eye 19 and bends the terminal end 15 of the wire around the top ring 16 either by forming a hook thereon by a suitable'tool and closing the same around the wirering 16, or,by merely closing the open hook when the latter is, as shown in Fig. 4l, previously formed therein. These operations are repeated with each wire until each but the two end eyes 19 of theband contains a wire 12 which is fastened tothe ring 16.

Then, to lock the two .ends of the band 18 together, the assembler places the end eyes v19 upon each other and ,forcesthe last-.wire 12'through the alignedfeyes and then clinches the' terminal end '15 of the-wire 12`a'roundthe ring 16.

Forniany purposes, the device-asthus far described, 'is -a satisfactory vfinished :article and need have nothing further donefto itin order that it may Lbe mech-especially when the junction of the bowed portionl and straight 1portion `14: of the wir-e 12 is pro- Hvided ywith an inwardly `ext-ending kink 21,

for in this case the wire, when threaded through #the` eye-'19, willicause the inetal of the strip 1-8to ,spring slightly and firmly engage both sides of the -kinlr: or `vraised porstion 21 Vof the 'wire v:12.

.Howeveig in order that the device may be made very rigid, it -is preferable to flatten down theeyesfby means vof a suitable tool, ass'hown in Fi'gs. land 3, sothatrthe band is ifirmly held to the wires.

" To vfurther strengthen vand stiflen the structure ofthe device, the present invention provides a crown plate 22 which vis formed Afrom a blank, `shown iin Fig. .and has a plurality fof equi-spaced notches 23 :forming between lthema series of .tongues 24. The 'notches 23 are of such -width that when placed/on Vthe tops'ofthe assembled .vertical wires 12fthe tongues 24 lit between the ,wires and may be bent down and under-the-wires, and -thus space the wires equal distances from-each other -in the vicinity ofthe ring '16 and, inaddition, lhold tthe wires together.

Variationsand modificationsrinay'be made within the scope of this invention and portions of theimprovernents maybe usedwithout others.

Havingithus described the invention, what is claimed as newand for which it is de- S'ed t0 Obtain Letters-Patent, is

1. An eaves 'trough drain strainer cornprlsng a plurality of vertical Win93,@ ring "uP-0n which the upper. Aends of the wires are bent to fasten .them together and .to the rlng'; and avcrown plate engagingfsaid Wires adjacent the v'ring tocover the ring and Sub- Stantiauy @103e the hole thereof, tofcoverthe ends 'of the wires connectedthereto ,and :to

`be bent through the spaces between the wires and clinched under the wires to hold the wires predeterminedly spaced from each other.

3. An eaves trough vdrain strainer cornprising aplurality offvertical lwires; a ring upon .which the upperends ofthe .wiresfare b ent .to rfasten them `togethertand to :the ring; :a girthing band 'located between fthe ends of the `wiresand having .integral 'eye-` lets projecting laterally Vfroin the :band through which veyelets vsaid wires extend to hold :the wires predeterminedly :spaced froinleach other.; and acrownplate-.having a plurality of spaced ytongues aroundiits periphery valternating with fnotches, said wires extending into said Vnotches: .land :said tongues 4being ibent throughcthe spaces between the wires. and clinched. underfthezwires to hold ,the wires `predeterininedlyspaced from each other.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the ,countyiof Fairfield and State of Connecticut, this-13th day of April, 1929.

VALENTIN0 zREN-ZULI. 

